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Ebola Cases Rise Again in West Africa

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NBC NEWS   by Magie Fox                          June 10, 2015

The steady decline in Ebolacases has stopped and the numbers are ticking up again in Guinea and Sierra Leone, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday.

WHO is worried that there are still people who don't understand how to stop the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 27,000 people and killed more than 11,000 of them in the West African epidemic. Even more worrying, it's not entirely clear where some of the new cases have come from....

If health workers can find out where and how people were infected, they can track down and check everyone who might have been in close contact and night transmit the disease. But there are still mysterious outbreaks.

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http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/ebola-ticks-again-west-africa-n373171

WHO CURRENT REPORT                         June 10, 2015
In recent weeks, the decline in case incidence and the contraction of the geographic area affected by Ebola virus disease (EVD) transmission that was apparent throughout April and early May has stalled. In total, 31 confirmed cases of EVD were reported in the week ending 7 June: 16 cases in Guinea and 15 in Sierra Leone. This is the second consecutive weekly increase in case incidence, and the highest weekly total number of cases reported from Sierra Leone since late March. In addition, cases were reported from a widening geographical area in Guinea and Sierra Leone, and the continued occurrence of cases that arise from unknown sources of infection highlights the challenges still faced in finding and eliminating every chain of transmission.
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http://apps.who.int/ebola/

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THE GUARDIAN by Lisa O'Carroll                          June 11, 2015

... International Medical Corps says the new hot spots on the coastal border region are demoralising for all, particularly as Liberia, on the opposite border, was declared Ebola free on 9 May.

“It feels like we are back to square one. The world has moved on, but it is still a very real problem here. With Liberia Ebola free, we thought we were not far behind, but that isn’t the case,” said a spokesman. “Guinea is a problem and as long as Guinea has Ebola, Sierra Leone will continue to struggle. The border is meaningless, with families straddling both countries,” he added.

The Red Cross in Guinea said there were 16 new cases in the past week in six prefectures, four of them on the border with Sierra Leone. In Sierra Leone, there have been cases in Kambia, the coastal district bordering Guinea, Port Loko, a district to the south, and Freetown.

A spokesman for the charity said in the last two months the virus had moved from the country’s forested areas to lower Guinea for the first time, with communities expressing the fear and denial seen during the 18-month battle against Ebola elsewhere in the region.

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/11/ebola-charities-fear-resurgence-spike-infections

WASHINGTON POST  Column by Abby Phillip                  June 13, 2015

Ebola isn't finished yet.

Liberia has long since celebrated a momentous milestone, being declared Ebola-free, with no new cases in months. But for the second week in a row, the number of new cases is up in both Sierra Leone and Guinea.

There was a time in May when the number of new cases in those two countries was tantalizingly close to zero. Then, suddenly, came an alarming spike in the two countries, which were ravaged by the virus during the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.

Now, week after week, up to a few dozen new people are appearing on the World Health Organization's weekly report on the situation in West Africa. And public health officials are racing to find out what's driving these pockets of Ebola transmission.

Read complete article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/06/12/rise-in-new-cases-shows-ebola-has-not-released-its-deadly-grip/?wprss=rss_africa

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